That Partner, Regretting
by Nanashiru
Summary: They thought they were the perfect couple alive. I mean, nothing went wrong actually. They were happy, loving each other enough and everything was just like rainbows. That is until the young male was caught with something he never wished he had. Misunderstood happens and they've decided to discuss on a solution.


"Maybe he was right .. Maybe you shouldn't be with me .." The young ravenette muttered as he heaved a heavy sigh and looked away, eyes pooled with sorrow and misery.

His partner was speechless and kept her head low as she too sighed and hummed.

"I guess so. I thought he was wrong .. I thought .." She let her jade forest orbs flickered.

"I thought you're not like that .. I thought we could be the perfect couple but it seems .."

"You were wrong." The male answered, lifting his gaze to her. A grimace crossed his lips as he felt the need to cough and swiftly grabbed his bluish white handkerchief before coughing hard onto it, ignoring the velvet crimson spotting the once clean handkerchief.

The young woman was silent; merely observing—oblivious to the stained handkerchief her once beloved partner was holding. No. She was too deep in her own thoughts to see how pale and sick he was.

Oh, how ignorant she was.

"So … What's your decision then?" Damn. Why must he ask that question now? She wasn't ready for it yet.

She wasn't ready to just let her knight in shining armour— _well used to be anyway_ — go.

Seeing her so silent, he decided to add the spice to the already spicy topic.

"Well … I mean, you don't have to answer now but … I kinda need that answer quick, ba—Lizzy. I don't have much time after all before I gotta go to somewhere far." He didn't even know why he told her this; subtly hinting on the day his suffering finally ends.

And this will just be a bitter memory as he faded off.

She cocked her eyebrows at the end of his sentence. Why did it feel like that sentence had some importance? As if … he was hinting something to her?

Still, she merely sighed; shifting her gaze to the side and let her dull jade show.

"Give me time, C. This is just as hard on me as it is on you. Just … Give me some time, all right? I'll think about all of this. Also … Where ARE you going? 'cause as far as I know … you don't always get out much …" That just got a small chuckle out of the young man.

Should he tell her? Nah. He was just going to go subtle again.

"Oh? Just .., somewhere peaceful where everything just feels right." Her stomach churned but she ignored it and just nodded; letting out a long 'oh' as well as a 'be safe then' while she was at it.

Better just wished him early than never, right?

 _ **Oh, if only she knew.**_

They went silent again; eyes avoiding the other as they possibly could before the young male clapped his hand as smirked. He broke the silence again.

"So … I'll see you later then. I … I have some stuff to do and um, Lizzy … I'm glad we had this discussion; **REALLY** I am. It … It made things clearer for us now. So, uh, I think I'll get going now. Thank you, Lizzy." The hands that held tightly around the handkerchief were wiped to the side as they grabbed his once beloved's soft ones and cupped them close before he gently gave them a kiss.

He'll miss her so much.

The young woman, flustered—cheeks tinted red as ever—merely let her hand be before turning to him and smiled, nodding as she did so as those same hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a soft hug.

A hug was fine, right? It's not like it's the last.

Or is it?

The young male was silent for a few seconds, arms to the side but soon they too were wrapped gently around the young woman's frame. Warmth spreading quickly between the two as they pulled tighter on the other; wanting to cherish this moment while it lasted.

But of course, good things need to come to an end.

And oh how they dreaded this good end.

They didn't want it to end but she guessed it was time.

Slowly, she pulled away and smiled; a sad one that is while he shot her his warming eyes.

"So … I'll see you soon?" He chuckled; softly and nodded.

"Yeah … Guess you will … Just, not the way you would expect but hey, you'll still see me, right? So, yeah. See you soon, Lizzy." Her stomach churned again at how he worded his sentence yet again, she ignored it as if it was there for nothing.

She had a few principles about trusting her guts after all.

It always ends up her in situations she rarely wanted and so, she put on some rules for herself.

 _ **Oh, but if only she knew**_.

The young female hummed.

"Yeah, I'll see you!" Her voice becoming cheery again like usual, waving as he was approaching her door to bid her his final farewell.

He smiled, waving back and closed the huge metal thing; a sigh escaping his lips as he had the urge again.

It was coming again.

And just like that, almost on instinct, he took the bloodied handkerchief and slapped it on his mouth— _just in time_ —as the sudden horrendous coughs came about; staining the already crimson fabric with more reddy blotches.

Of course, it didn't stop until his throat was so sore it could barely even swallow anymore.

At that point, he was kneeling, breaths taken slowly; wanting to avoid erupting more pain that he preferred.

He hoped he wasn't too loud. He didn't want to disturb anyone after all but judging by the shadowy figure behind the door, that failed.

He was making a lot of noises and he hated it.

Carefully, the young male got up, clutching for dear life on his handkerchief. He could feel everything aching but was determined nonetheless to walk again—or at least even stood straight!

A sigh he didn't expect escaped his coral lips when he finally stood on his two feet. Man, was this a hassle.

Just as he was about to take his first step, he shifted his gaze to her door; a heartbreaking smile crossed his lips.

"I'm so sorry, Lizzy …"

And with that, small footsteps trailed off.

 _ **If only she knew**_.

_

He was right.

Of course he was right; he was _**ALWAYS**_ right.

But this time, she wanted him to be wrong.

She just wanted him to be _wrong_ for once.

She wanted him to admit how wrong he was and they could just laugh it off like always.

But how could she do that when he was there; laid perfectly in bed with a white sheet covering him from head to toe?

How could she possibly do that when the one she loved most was … pronounced dead just a few hours ago before she could even process what happened weeks ago?

"You were right …" Her voice was so soft and frail; as if it'll break if she were to ever speak louder.

Dullen jade gazed the lying body with a sigh as she grabbed the nearby stool and took a seat beside him.

"I _am_ seeing you again … in an unexpected way …" Her stomach churned again, taking his cold pale hands into hers as she leaned in and hummed.

"Just … I never expected this, C." She tightened her grip, gazing him with her tired eyes; as if she was expecting him to just wake up and answer her back; saying this was merely a prank he carefully so constructed to make her cry.

"Never expected you to be on a serious vacation … You were never good with vacations anyways … They were like a stopper to you but uh, guess you finally had a serious one, huh? For eternity …. To rest in peace ….." She couldn't keep her guard up anymore.

The young woman leaned into his stiffened shoulder and huffed, tears rolling down her cheeks slowly as she just mourned silently until it slowly turned to full blown choked ugly sobs.

Never had she sobbed so hard in her life.

 _Only for him, she guessed._

_

The far away bells from the church made her sigh as she kneeled and placed a beautiful sterling white rose on his grave.

It was his favourite after all and she deemed it to be a perfect gift for this visit—even if that was all she got for him on each visit.

"Hey, C .. I miss you … Well, _we_ miss you … A LOT." She smiled sadly, leaning in and rubbed the blue whitish gravelstone softly.

From afar, a young man with crimson orbs and quite a slim figure stood, gazing the young woman with hawk eyes; watching her every move in case something happened.

It had become a tradition actually. He would be there to accompany her in her little visits while spontaneously keeping an eye for her. To be blunt, he could just be called as her bodyguard or even spy but the young female; being the kind hearted and humble being she was, refused immediately to call him those treacherous names— _even though, they weren't **THAT** bad_—and instead called him the term he knew any of his previous bosses would never use on him.

 _Friend_.

She called him a friend and asked of him to merely refer to her as her name; nothing more or less. It honestly shocked him to the core when she first ordered this but … he guessed those rules eventually rubbed on him and to this day, he couldn't imagine calling her anything other than her beautiful name.

And now, it was just another normal day except today was a bit more special to her. He knew fairly well judging by her sudden mood changes and those dull saddened eyes she gazed him with. Plus, after the first visit, he marked it in his plans for the next little visits to come—just so that he wouldn't forget or missed to prepare.

Though, he guessed if he forgot, he would've just looked at the boss' moods and all but … it may be incorrect; considering how the young female changed through the years and he knew well enough that there were days where she had one of those really worse days and would display the same emotional issue.

So to be on the safe side, he made perfectly sure he marked it on his calendar and was prepared emotionally and mentally for the whole working day.

He was snapped from his thoughts as a hand gently tapped his sides. Alarming eyes instantly searched and were on guard until he saw his boss was beside him; giving him those apologetic smiles of hers.

"Sorry, Sebastian … But uh, it's your turn." He couldn't help the sigh of relief escaping his lips while nodding gently.

"Ohh, I see. All right then, Elizabeth. I'll be right back." This was one of the things he didn't quite get but at the same time did.

"Lizzy and please, take your time, Sebastian. There's no rush today so you're fine to wish him a long wish." He didn't even register himself nodding; marching slowly to the gravel path before nearing the said grave with a hum. He did glance a little to the side and to his relief, she was there, following him and ended up beside him before backing up a bit—to give him space he supposed.

Now, even if he didn't know this lover of hers that much, he was aware of how powerful the deceased male was. In fact, believe it or not, he was supposed to be his boss had if he were still alive as he was the company's president but since he was sick, he gave up his position by will to his current boss.

And she of course, gladly took it.

"Sebastian … Are you all right?" Once again, she broke off his railing thoughts and he sighed, gazing her softly.

"Yes … I'm fine, Eliza—Lizzy .. Sorry to worry you though … Thoughts were just wild … Just give me a few moments." Of course, his boss was beginning to worry. It was etched in her face even but he tried to calm her down by offering her a soft smile before gazing back at the blue stoned grave.

He didn't say anything though—merely letting his hand roamed the grave with soft strokes and just wished the normal 'hello' in his thoughts, mumbling some prayers he knew to heart while he was at it and ended it with a blooming red rose he took from his pockets and placed it just beside hers.

Wordlessly, he turned, shifting his gaze to her; landing a solid palm to her shoulders. Her jade forests widened by the touch, stiffening slightly but soon enough, a small smile slipped her lips and she gazed him softly; a free hand came atop of his.

"Yes, Sebastian?"

"Ready to go, Lizzy?" His hand was gripped a little, her smile faltered along with it. Still, the young female took a deep breath and sighed, nodding slowly.

"Yes …" Her voice was low, as if she didn't want to answer that question but it had to be answered plus, it was getting late after all and they had a busy schedule for tomorrow.

Though, per tradition, she shrugged his hold and turned, saying her goodbyes to the bluish stone, stroking it a bit more, giving it reassurance that she'll be back soon—even though she knew he wouldn't answer her or anything and gave the blue tomb a soft kiss to end things off.

She could almost imagine it as kissing him whenever she needed to go far in the old days.

Oh … those wonderful days with him.

She didn't even notice her hand clutching her chest; pain blooming inside from the mere thought of him and his stubbornness of keeping his damn sickness a secret.

It still struck a heartstring no matter what.

"Lizzy …" She could almost hear him whisper her name every time this time of year came and it broke her even if she knew whose voice it belonged to. Of course, she kept her tears at bay, turning to Sebastian and smirked.

"I'm … sorry. There was something … Never mind. Let's just head back home, Sebastian." She didn't even give him a chance to say anything as she walked past him and just let the crimson orbs widened in wonder.

That boss of his sometimes.

Nonetheless, he followed her trail, sighing as he tried to think of happier things rather than this.

It would get depressing if he didn't.

_

As she walked ahead, she couldn't help but reminisce the church bells and sighed.

It won't be long before the bells would rang again anyway.

And this time, she hoped she wasn't too late like last time.

But she supposed … It's never late to join someone who's dead, right?

Slowly, a smile graced her lips again.

' _Soon, C. Soon_.'


End file.
